The frustrating five-year hunt for Peter Sutcliffe, who is often referred to as the Yorkshire Ripper, has been made into an ITV drama series called The Long Shadow.
The true crime aims to put the 13 victims, their families, and the investigative team at the centre of the story, rather than the horrendous crimes committed by Sutcliffe, who was caught and arrested in 1981 and died in 2020.
In order to ensure that happened, the people behind the TV production heavily researched the incidents and called on people who have memories of the case.
This included Richard Hoban, who is the son of DCS Dennis Hoban – the man who is credited as one of the first people to link multiple murders and decipher that they were attributed to one serial killer, and then originally led the case.
Around the start of 2020, Richard, 72, received a message from the team planning to make the show, which includes writer George Kay, director Lewis Arnold and producer Matt Sandford. Soon after, Richard along with other people who were connected with the inquiries were all invited to meet at the Radisson Hotel in Leeds, and ‘chatted away for hours’.
‘My reaction was I would help in any way, shape, or form. I’ll always do what I can to continue my dad’s amazing legacy.
‘I am privileged to have a dad who was involved in such a high-profile case which was a tiny part of his incredible career,’ the retired deputy head teacher told Metro.co.uk.
Hoban died in 1978, at the age of 56, meaning he didn’t live to see Sutcliffe put behind bars.
Richard, who was in his late twenties at the time of his death added: ‘If nothing else, it helps me to keep my personal memories of him alive. Even chatting with you now is amazing.
‘I’ll be buzzing for the rest of the day. I always want to speak about my dad. It’s cathartic.’
Richard has been given early access and has already watched the first five episodes of The Long Shadow, and was impressed with Toby Jones, 57, who played his dad.
‘It was almost like I was watching my dad at some points. It is kind of surreal,’ he shared.
‘It’s a magnificent performance. The characterisation of my dad is absolutely superb. He’s captured my dad’s assertiveness, incredible observation skills, and analytical mind.
‘He also had so much empathy for victims, which comes across.
‘My dad would always be checking in on people to make sure they were alright and if he found out people didn’t have food on the table, he would help with finances.
‘He would never get angry. When I did something wrong as a child, my dad would still speak gently.’
Richard has been so impressed by the portrayal that he’s sent a message to Toby expressing his extreme gratitude.
While he wishes he could give the series, which also stars Katherine Kelly as Emily Jackson, and Charley Webb as WPC Anna Lawson, ‘all the awards’.
A particular scene in the new ITV series has come directly from Richard’s memories.
‘I rambled to the team about my dad a lot, and one of the things I told them about was our Christmas days.
‘On the day, we’d always open our presents in the morning and once we’d unwrapped everything, my dad would make us pick two presents to donate to people who hadn’t had particularly easy lives.
‘We’d have our dinner, and then every year he got a call to go to work.
‘It got to a point where I associated Christmas Day with a murder taking place. I eventually found out that he was just getting someone to call him so he could go to work.
‘I told this story and it’s been included. I know that the scene could have only come from me as I’m the last living family member. I think it’s lovely that they listened to me.’
Another important scene for Richard was his dad’s death. Hoban went into the hospital with a bad cough, and during an endoscopy, he had a heart attack and never regained consciousness.
‘It brought a tear to my eye. I can’t deny that,’ he said.
‘I thought it was done really sensitively on the programme, which I appreciated. It shows DCS Jim Hobson [played by Lee Ingleby], who was one of my dad’s best friends, ringing George Oldfield [played by David Morrissey] to tell him that Dennis had died.
‘ITV have really looked after me through this process to make sure I’m okay. Their duty of care to the people involved has been outstanding.’
Recalling Hoban’s dedication to his job, Richard said: ‘My dad had considerable health problems – he was a severe diabetic – but they never ever impinged on his work right up to the bitter end.
‘He’d be taking calls at all hours and getting hardly any sleep. He’d work seven days per week, and even when he was on holiday he was itching to get back to Leeds.
‘When the murders were happening it was such a scary time, and I remember how fearful everyone was. I was a teacher, and it was a regular subject of discussion in the staff room.
‘That weighed on my dad,’ Richard recalled.
‘He didn’t talk to me about specific details, as he was extremely sensitive in the way he handled the case but I knew some background. I remember him telling me they’d found victim Wilma McCann on a field where I’d played football and broke my kneecap.
‘What I did know is how much the Sutcliffe case consumed him, and in the end that took its toll.’
Of course, Richard’s thoughts have naturally gone to what his dad would make of the series.
‘He had great respect for the media and used TV, newspapers and radio to help get more information from the public to help with his cases. There are plenty of my dad’s video interviews in existence that I’m sure Toby has studied.
‘I’ve no doubt that he would have absolutely loved the series,’ Richard stated.
The Long Shadow will air via ITV1 at 9pm tonight, with all seven hour-long episodes also landing on ITVX.
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